Fuel Smarts

EPA Adding Reefers, Test Methods to SmartWay Program

TMC, NASHVILLE – The Environmental Protection Agency is making changes in its voluntary SmartWay program, including adding refrigerated trailers and accepting more testing methods from suppliers who want to get their fuel-saving technologies verified by the agency.

During a session at the ATA Technology and Maintenance Council annual meeting this week, Sam Waltzer, an environmental engineer with the EPA, noted that over the past decade "it's been a push-pull," with increasing state and national fuel-economy regulations on the push side, and voluntary adoption of fuel-saving technologies such as are promoted by the EPA's SmartWay program on the pull side.

As the agency has watched what has been going on in the trucking industry and on the regulatory side, with new federal fuel-economy regulations in the works, it has decided on some changes.

Another new element is moving to a slightly different way of categorizing devices. Instead of listing SmartWay-verified side skirts, front fairings or rear fairings, for instance, devices will be categorized by the percentage fuel savings achieved in testing. The agency also will at a "systems" category for those systems of products designed to work together to improve fuel efficiency.

The traditional SmartWay trailer uses low-rolling-resistance tires and offers a 5% or better improvement in aerodynamics, Waltzer explained. The Elite level will use low rolling resistance tires but would require a total of 9% or more aero improvement.

There now will be four choices for original and supplemental tests, Waltzer said:

A new track test (still based on SAE testing protocols)

Coastdown tests

Wind tunnel results

Computational Fluid Dynamics, or CFD

In addition, the agency is moving from a list approach to a matrix, which would at a glance allow users to see which tests a particular product has passed.

"Right now we have a single list of verified devices," Waltzer said. "We wanted to provide additional information. We're providing the opportunity for manufacturers to provide additional testing." The grid will have one column with checkmarks indicating technologies meeting the current test, then a series of columns with checkmarks indicating the product has been verified as conforming to the other tests.

Beyond that, the agency is considering adding twin pup trailers. "There's quite a bit of information on the performance of aerodynamic devices on twip pups," he said but the agency is looking for more. Consider this "sort of an open call for data and input," he said.

"Another goal of ours is focusing on helping fleets understand how controlled verification testing translates to what they will see on the road," Waltzer said.

Expect to see more from the EPA SmartWay program on these changes in the next few weeks.

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Comments

1.Richard Wood[ March 13, 2014 @ 04:11AM ]

The idea of the Smartway verification program expanding its evaluation and acceptance criteria as well as its ratings and claims is of great concern. To date, the Smartway verification program for aerodynamic technology has lacked the technical capability to effectively police a single verification test process and has added great confusion to the actually performance and utility of the current list of verified aerodynamic products. instead of cleaning up the current verification process and their flawed list of technologies they are quadrupling down on the verification and rating process. Several major issues currently exist; 1) there is no industry standards for coastdown testing, and 2) the current Wind tunnel and CFD standards are in need of additional work to make them relevant to the current and future truck and trailer designs. While the SAE is working hard to address these limitation the result of the SAE efforts will not be ready until the end of 2014. We can only hope that the Smartway program will show patience and move forward only when the appropriate SAE documents are made available.

2.Don Ottney[ March 13, 2014 @ 08:04AM ]

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments above from Richard Wood. From a practical point of view there are so many types, styles and installation methods of wind skirts or trailer Aero devices with no EPA quantitative method of testing for fuel saving with vs. without these devices. The EPA needs to step forward and qualify a uniform testing method for each device independent of the manufacturer or supplier of these devices. To date I don't believe anything uniform for testing of all Aero devices other than Low Rolling Resistance tires has been established. It these methods have been established lets get to work so the Industry KNOWS savings vs. the initial costs of these add on devices.

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